Table of Contents

May-June 1998 Newsletter

Service Points

by Norm Minnick

Our club is a volunteer organization. If it weren’t for those folks who give so generously of their time we wouldn’t have club rides, races, picnics, classes, etc. Thanks goodness for our volunteers! And the club does a very good job of recognizing those who give their time. But there are a number of inequities in the way those people are recognized. For instance, the awarding of mileage for things like helping fold and stuff this newsletter, or to work on our Old Kentucky Home Tour and so on. We have people with mileage recorded who don’t even own a bike, much less ride. Or, in another typical case, does a ride captain who offers week after week the same 15-mile unmarked ride with no cue sheets (like the River Walk rides) work as hard as a ride captain who offers a marked 15, 30, 60 & 100-mile ride with cue sheets? Or ride captains who will not bring up the rear and hence don’t help those in need of assistance or meet and ride with newcomers. I agree that those ride captains should be recognized. Again, without them, we wouldn’t have rides. But the same recognition somehow doesn’t seem quite fair.

Last year Duc Do suggested a system of “service points” as a better way of recognizing and awarding our volunteers at our annual banquet. Those people who ride and earn the mileage will, of course, still be awarded the appropriate jerseys. But I agree a points system would be a much fairer way of recognizing those who go out of their way to see that this club continues to grow and function.

As an example of how it could work, basic volunteer tasks like corner marshalling could be awarded 20 service points per hour of work. Or a ride captain would earn one service point per mile if the route is marked. Or one service point for every two miles if unmarked.

Obviously, the club officers would have to work out the details. A number of people I have talked with would like to see this system implemented. Your feedback is very important. Please feel free to contact me, any of the club officers or use the LBC Dicussion Forum.